MHC-I diversity enables rapid adaptation during viral pandemic in wild rabbit populations

We aim to understand how MHC molecules change as populations evolve resistance to a new pathogen. Myxomatosis in rabbits, which was one of the most extreme pandemics known from any species, caused rapid evolution of MHC Class I genes. By comparing MHC-I molecules from before and after the pandemic, we are uniquely placed to understand how the expression and peptide-binding properties of MHC-I changed. To achieve this, we conducted PacBio long-reads transcriptome sequencing and Illumina amplicon sequencing on modern samples. Additionally, we employed a custom-designed capture for historical samples, enabling us to acquire MHC-I sequence data.